Persistence Paid Off

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,796
2,161
Eastern Nebraska
2020 was one of the toughest elk seasons I have ever experienced. I spent 23 days in the field between scouting, archery, and rifle. This included 5 different trips to Wyoming. 2 of the trips were scouting/family camping and the last 3 were actually hunting.

My plan this season was to archery hunt wallows in an area that I knew held some great bulls. In early August I hung trail cameras on several wallows and then packed tree stands in to 2 different areas. One was close to 2 miles in. Over the month of August I was getting some fantastic bulls on camera with 2 or 3 of them easily breaking the 350" mark. I was excited to say the least. Here are a couple pics off the trail cameras-
123951 (1).jpgScreenshot_20200820-101853.png
Then in typical 2020 fashion, it snowed the night before opening day. My elk pictures at the wallows almost completely stopped and over the next 6 days of archery hunting I saw 2 bulls and had zero shot opportunities. It was depressing.

I packed up and went home, deciding it would probably be best to wait until later in September to pursue them once the rut was really going. I came back home and made plans to go back out around September 20th. A major forest fire started a few days before my planned date that eventually closed the majority of my area.

Thankfully my General Elk tag allowed me to hunt during the rifle season so I decided to wait and return in Mid-October. The fire was still raging so I came up with plans B & C. I decided I would completely switch mountain ranges and hunt an area where I harvested a small bull in 2018. I also decided to take my 11 year old along on this hunt. We hunted hard for 5 days and came very close on a couple of occasions, but in the end never filled the tag. My son still had a great time and learned a lot. We encountered extreme hunting pressure from all the hunters displaced by the Mullen Fire. In spite, we still found elk daily, saw a pile of mule deer, and saw 50+ moose.

After returning home I discussed my options with my wife. She absolutely wanted elk in the freezer so I decided to make one last trip back to Wyoming. This trip I left my son at home and planned to hunt as hard as necessary. The areas I was hunting allowed any elk so I was planning to shoot the first adult elk I had a chance at. I arrived on the mountain the evening of October 28th to find that much of the hunting pressure was gone. My main areas were still closed due to the fire but I had a few spots to fall back on. The first evening I saw a lone bull at last light 2000 yards away. I had no time to pursue but I was encouraged. After seeing him, I found a lot of sign and came up with a plan for the second morning.

At first light I was 2 miles in and glassing hard from a ridgetop overlooking an old burn. 20 minutes in I saw a good bull on an opposite ridge about a half mile away. It was going to be a very tough hike to get to him but with few days remaining, I went for him. After cutting the distance in half, I was glassing my approach to him and found more elk between us - one of them was a great bull for the area. He was bedded and only 500 yards away. I normally am comfortable with a 500 yards shot but this morning the wind was blowing hard so I decided to try to get closer. The hillside I was on was extremely steep and, with the fresh snow, downright dangerous. I had to go very slow. At one point, the big bull saw me moving but I was in no position to shoot. Thankfully, he stayed bedded and just watched me. It took me approximately 30 minutes to get to a point that was semi level where I would have footing to make a shot. Once there I ranged him at 259 yards (further but angle compensation made it a 250 yard hold). It was very uncomfortable but I was able to get steady. He was still in his bed but staring at my every move. At the shot, he stood and headed the other direction quickly. I shot at him two more times before he went down. I was relieved and excited but the reality of the situation was already starting to sink in. I had a bull down in an absolutely bad location. It took me almost an hour to get down to him.

There was no ground shrinkage - he was by far my best general tag bull I had ever taken.
IMG_20201029_140147.jpg The pack out was rough - 2.6 miles and over 1000' in elevation change uphill. That said, I would absolutely do it again.

The challenges of this season really solidified my belief that the single most important factor in being successful elk hunting is to stay persistent.
 

Bonecollector

Veteran member
Mar 9, 2014
5,852
3,656
Ohio
Awesome story and a truly great bull Hilltop! Congratulations brother.
I've yet to get a bull on the ground, but I've cut my teeth on a cow so I'm ready!
 
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marcusvdk

Veteran member
Dec 13, 2011
5,381
1,653
Michigan
great story hilltop and congrats on a great bull. Its on my list to get one some day. First things first is cutting my teeth out west on antelope eventually
 
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Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,796
2,161
Eastern Nebraska
great story hilltop and congrats on a great bull. Its on my list to get one some day. First things first is cutting my teeth out west on antelope eventually
Thanks - You should get out there next year for does if your not ready to apply for the buck. I don't know a single hunter that is glad they waited longer for their first trip out west.
 

ScottR

Eastmans' Staff / Moderator
Staff member
Feb 3, 2014
7,677
2,567
www.eastmans.com
2020 was one of the toughest elk seasons I have ever experienced. I spent 23 days in the field between scouting, archery, and rifle. This included 5 different trips to Wyoming. 2 of the trips were scouting/family camping and the last 3 were actually hunting.

My plan this season was to archery hunt wallows in an area that I knew held some great bulls. In early August I hung trail cameras on several wallows and then packed tree stands in to 2 different areas. One was close to 2 miles in. Over the month of August I was getting some fantastic bulls on camera with 2 or 3 of them easily breaking the 350" mark. I was excited to say the least. Here are a couple pics off the trail cameras-
View attachment 32702View attachment 32703
Then in typical 2020 fashion, it snowed the night before opening day. My elk pictures at the wallows almost completely stopped and over the next 6 days of archery hunting I saw 2 bulls and had zero shot opportunities. It was depressing.

I packed up and went home, deciding it would probably be best to wait until later in September to pursue them once the rut was really going. I came back home and made plans to go back out around September 20th. A major forest fire started a few days before my planned date that eventually closed the majority of my area.

Thankfully my General Elk tag allowed me to hunt during the rifle season so I decided to wait and return in Mid-October. The fire was still raging so I came up with plans B & C. I decided I would completely switch mountain ranges and hunt an area where I harvested a small bull in 2018. I also decided to take my 11 year old along on this hunt. We hunted hard for 5 days and came very close on a couple of occasions, but in the end never filled the tag. My son still had a great time and learned a lot. We encountered extreme hunting pressure from all the hunters displaced by the Mullen Fire. In spite, we still found elk daily, saw a pile of mule deer, and saw 50+ moose.

After returning home I discussed my options with my wife. She absolutely wanted elk in the freezer so I decided to make one last trip back to Wyoming. This trip I left my son at home and planned to hunt as hard as necessary. The areas I was hunting allowed any elk so I was planning to shoot the first adult elk I had a chance at. I arrived on the mountain the evening of October 28th to find that much of the hunting pressure was gone. My main areas were still closed due to the fire but I had a few spots to fall back on. The first evening I saw a lone bull at last light 2000 yards away. I had no time to pursue but I was encouraged. After seeing him, I found a lot of sign and came up with a plan for the second morning.

At first light I was 2 miles in and glassing hard from a ridgetop overlooking an old burn. 20 minutes in I saw a good bull on an opposite ridge about a half mile away. It was going to be a very tough hike to get to him but with few days remaining, I went for him. After cutting the distance in half, I was glassing my approach to him and found more elk between us - one of them was a great bull for the area. He was bedded and only 500 yards away. I normally am comfortable with a 500 yards shot but this morning the wind was blowing hard so I decided to try to get closer. The hillside I was on was extremely steep and, with the fresh snow, downright dangerous. I had to go very slow. At one point, the big bull saw me moving but I was in no position to shoot. Thankfully, he stayed bedded and just watched me. It took me approximately 30 minutes to get to a point that was semi level where I would have footing to make a shot. Once there I ranged him at 259 yards (further but angle compensation made it a 250 yard hold). It was very uncomfortable but I was able to get steady. He was still in his bed but staring at my every move. At the shot, he stood and headed the other direction quickly. I shot at him two more times before he went down. I was relieved and excited but the reality of the situation was already starting to sink in. I had a bull down in an absolutely bad location. It took me almost an hour to get down to him.

There was no ground shrinkage - he was by far my best general tag bull I had ever taken.
View attachment 32704 The pack out was rough - 2.6 miles and over 1000' in elevation change uphill. That said, I would absolutely do it again.

The challenges of this season really solidified my belief that the single most important factor in being successful elk hunting is to stay persistent.
Congrats Hilltop! Nice work!
 
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marcusvdk

Veteran member
Dec 13, 2011
5,381
1,653
Michigan
Thanks - You should get out there next year for does if your not ready to apply for the buck. I don't know a single hunter that is glad they waited longer for their first trip out west.
Id love to go next year but my Canadian bear hunt go moved feom this year to next to to the boarder closure and wife only allows me one trip a year or every other
 
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